Liar

Summary:
Bella Swan is in a very tight spot. On one side is her coven, the vampires who saved her life. On the other are the werewolves she has come to befriend. She herself is a vampire, but that doesn't change anything-to her. When more and more things start to pile up in Bella's life, will she be able to handle it? Or will she crack from it all and reveal the truth? The sequel to Faker. Banner by the one and only Iris!

Notes:
So, this is the sequel to Faker! I hope you enjoy this!

5. Chapter 5

I slowly woke to the sound of Charlie and Alice talking. I blinked twice, listening to what they were saying.

“Tell me how bad it was, when we left,” Alice was asking Charlie. I cringed, knowing I wouldn’t like what I was about to hear. I knew I didn’t have to worry about any editing: my heart almost always went at the same pace, without changing. Only when I was stressed or angry would it change.

“I’ve never felt as helpless as I have in the past few months,” Charlie began. “At first, I thought I would have to hospitalize her. She didn’t do anything at all. Doctors were saying she was catatonic. They wanted to take her to the hospital, but I thought it would scare her, and it would just get worse.

“I had Renee come up to take her to Florida. If she had to be hospitalized, I didn’t want to have to do it. But when we started to pack her clothes, she woke up with a vengeance. She normally doesn’t throw a fit like that, but boy did she have a tantrum. She insisted we let her stay, and we agreed. She was getting better at first…”

“But?” Alice asked. I could tell that this was important to her. Well, at least one of them cares about me.

“She went to school and work. She ate, slept, and functioned like a normal person. But she was dead. She never talked unless asked a direct question, and usually in monosyllables. She refused to watch TV, read, or listen to music. She was avoiding everything that reminded her of him.

“I never could talk to her. Almost anything would make her flinch, and I didn’t want to hurt her. She stopped talking to her friends, and they stopped talking to her.

“When she finally started to wake up from her…unawareness…she got sick. Caught the Pacific Flu at school from her classmates. I was so afraid that she would just let herself die, since she was so depressed. I wasn’t allowed to ever see her; I just had to go off of what the doctors told me.

“And then she disappeared for a few days. Everyone was sure she was dead. Some people even started to send flowers and condolence letters. But then she came back a few days later, looking healthier. She was pale and still seemed weak, but more…free. Her friends had taken her away, thinking that if she had to die, it might as well be in peace. It turned out what she needed was peace.

“She started the hang out with her old friends for awhile. She seemed to be getting better, but I still saw the sadness in her eyes. I know she tried to hide it, but it was always there.” His voice drifted off slightly, but then came back stronger.

“Then she began to hang out with Jacob Black. He helped her as well as her other friends. Some of the sadness seemed to lift from her face, and she seemed to have purpose again. He took good care of her, and she’s slowly healing now.”

“It’s good she has such good friends, then,” Alice said softly.

Charlie sighed. “Even with her friends with her almost everyday, I don’t think she’ll ever fully heal. I’ve never seen anyone in that kind of pain. It wasn’t right. Not like somebody left, but like someone died, someone closer to her than herself.”

I closed my eyes. I had died that day in the forest. My body had continued to work, but my mind left. After my body died, it began to come back, ever so slowly.

Charlie went on. “I don’t think she’ll ever recover from what happened in September. Some part of her seems like it’s etched in stone. She just doesn’t move on from stuff like this.”

It was silent in the kitchen. I was surprised Charlie had noticed my changed perspective. Very few vampires even noticed it. I guess most vampires don’t live with their human family, though.

“Yes, I guess she’s one of a kind,” Alice agreed.

“Alice, I know how great of a friend you are for her. But I’m not sure how your visit will affect her,” Charlie said worriedly.

I didn’t hear Alice’s reply, because as Charlie spoke, a familiar scent became stronger. Becka.

I repressed the urge to growl. I should have known she would come. I just hoped she wouldn’t do anything to get me in trouble. I knew she just wanted to help me, but that usually came along with my pain and suffering.

I jumped up, my fake heart beat spiking. I knew that Alice would hear, though I was moving too quietly for Charlie. She didn’t say anything though, and assured Charlie that someone wasn’t coming back. I could easily guess who they were talking about.

I opened the door quickly to Becka’s smiling face. “Hi Bella! Can I come in?” She asked innocently. My eyes narrowed as I let her walk past me. I knew that face. And that face told me trouble was coming.

Charlie had heard me open the door. “Oh, hey there Becka. What brings you here?” He asked.

Becka shrugged. “I’m just here in passing. I think I left my purse here the other day. I was going out to the movies with Alex, and I kind of needed it.”

Charlie nodded. Alice came into the room, looking at me with a confused face. I shook my head at her, before guiding Becka up to my room.

“What do you want?” I asked warily. She cocked her head, reaching down and picking up a purse that hadn’t been there last night.

“What are you talking about?” She asked. When I glared at her, she sighed. “Fine, I guess I was a little curious. I wanted to see one of the great Cullens you talked about. She seems nice.”

I nodded. “She’s the best,” I said carefully, gauging her expression. She was hiding something. “What’s wrong?”

“I agree with Charlie,” she sighed. “I don’t want you to get messed up again. I might be able to take it, but not the guys. They would go insane if you became that depressed again.”

I laughed. “I thought I was already driving them insane with how sad I am sometimes.” She smiled and nodded.

“Well, I’ll let you get back to this. I just wanted to stop by and talk. Oh, and Bella?” She asked when she got to the door. I looked at her. “Be careful.”

I nodded, and she went down the stairs. I slowly followed her, and waved bye as she walked out to her thunderbird. I was truly jealous of that car. I have to get myself something nice this summer, I thought.

“Was that one of your friends?” Alice asked softly as she silently walked over to me. I nodded, and sighed.

“Yeah, that was Becka,” I said. She laughed at my tone, and didn’t bring it back up, for which I was grateful. I didn’t think I could talk about my coven without revealing anything. But another part of me hoped she would. I wanted to tell her about what I was.

Instead, we talked about her family. She told me about how they all were staying in Upstate New York. Carlisle was working at Ithaca and Cornell. Esme was restoring a very old house. Emmett and Rosalie had gone on another honeymoon. Jasper was studying at Cornell, as well.

Alice had been digging up her past. She used the clues from the video tape James used when he attacked me. She had found the asylum she had spent her last few years of humanity, and her real name.

“I was Mary Alice Brandon. I had a sister—Cynthia. My niece is still alive in Biloxi,” she whispered. “I couldn’t find much on my parents, though. They weren’t in that social circle.”

She explained how the date on her tombstone was the same as the admission date. She didn’t know what drove her parents to such extremes, though. I wondered what parent could do that to their child.

So I now knew that all of the Cullens—except one—were all reassembled. Not once did she mention the one I wanted most to hear about. I was extremely grateful for that. I didn’t want the temptation to go after him.

So now I knew all about my old family, and my new family was looking out for me. I actually felt somewhat whole for the rest of the day.